


Torn to Pieces

by Serenacula



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Glimmer has ADHD, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Graphic Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:27:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29090541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenacula/pseuds/Serenacula
Summary: During the time on the Horde Ship, Glimmer and Catra both experience daily bouts of torture. During this time, the only person they have to rely on is each other.
Relationships: Catra/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Torn to Pieces

_Day One_

Glimmer had never quite experienced being stared at, in the way Horde Prime did. He looked at her and Catra like they were unfortunate dirty marks on the pristine floor.

“They came through the teleporter when we received our brother from the surface.” The Horde clone behind them said in explanation. Horde Prime waved a hand dismissively, turning away.

“Take them to be purified. I have no interest in some backwater planet scum.” He said.

“W-Wait, wha-” Glimmer began in protest, but before she could speak she received a taser in her back, the shock causing her to scream in pain and drop unconscious.

Catra watched, her eyes wide, but remained silent. Unlike Glimmer, she had known many experiences like this. Judging from the cold look he had given them, she had no preconceptions what would happen if they managed to irritate the man in front of her even slightly.

The clone grabbed the unconscious Glimmer by the foot and began dragging her along. Catra followed behind without prompting, all too aware of the second clone standing behind her, ready to shock her as well.

They were led through the featureless spaceship, to a holding cell. It was completely empty, no furniture, nothing. Just an empty white room.

The clone that had been dragging Glimmer swung her by the leg like a ragdoll, and chucked her body into the room unceremoniously. The Queen of Brightmoon might as well have been a sack of straw, for all the care he seemed to give.

Glimmer landed with a solid thump on the floor, and Catra was immediately concerned that she might have hit her head. She had a feeling they would not be receiving any real medical care, in this place.

Catra silently stepped into the room, all of her instincts screaming at the danger she was currently in. The two clones stared at her for a moment, perhaps contemplating whether to separate the two of them, before simply activating a forcefield and leaving.

The moment they were out of sight, Catra rushed over to Glimmer to check her over. “Come on, Sparkles, don’t be dead. I _really_ don’t wanna be in this place all by myself.” She muttered, examining Glimmer’s head closely.

There was a bump, but from what she could tell it didn’t look too bad. Probably not enough to have damaged the girl’s skull or brain, Catra thought hopefully. She wouldn’t know for sure until Glimmer woke up though.

Laying Glimmer out into a more natural pose, Catra checked the rest of her for injuries. Some more bruises, and a nasty burn mark from the taser, but nothing serious. With a sigh, she leaned back, taking a seat against the wall.

She didn’t know how long it was before Glimmer woke up. There was no way to measure time in the featureless white room. But eventually, Catra saw her stirring.

“Congratulations on not dying, Sparkles.” Catra said dryly.

“C-Catra..? What...” Glimmer said in confusion, holding her throbbing head. Her senses coming back to her, she suddenly gasped and tried to stand up into a fighting stance. Unfortunately, dizziness immediately brought her back down to the ground.

Catra sighed. “You hit your head when they threw you in here. You might wanna try taking it easy for a moment, before you end up hurting yourself even more.”

“What happened out there?” Glimmer asked hoarsely, not bothering to stand again as she clutched her throbbing head.

“Uhh, we got kidnapped, you nearly got us both killed by shouting at Horde Prime, you got electrocuted, and we both got sent off for ‘purification’.” Catra summarised airily.

“Oh. Great. Fantastic. Stuck in enemy territory with nobody but my worst enemies for company, sure missed this.” Glimmer scowled.

Catra laughed derisively. “You do have a habit of becoming the damsel in distress, huh? Is Adora gonna come to your rescue again, Princess?”

Glimmer scooted to the wall opposite Catra, on the other side of their cell. “She will. You’re stuck in here too, this time. I wonder who’s going to come to _your_ rescue, hmm?” She said in a mocking voice.

The unexpected jab obviously hit Catra deeply. They both knew full well she had nobody who would care she was gone. Hell, Catra wouldn’t be surprised if there was a party in celebration. But with no retort she could give, Catra just stayed silent, choosing to look away rather than continue the conversation. Glimmer gave a self-satisfied smirk.

The two of them stayed like that for hours, sitting on opposite sides of the room in silence. Finally, two clones arrived at the entrance, turning off the forcefield.

“You will follow us for initiation.” One of the clones said. Their faces were completely expressionless. It was unnerving.

Catra stood to follow, but Glimmer just stayed on the ground, scowling.

“You think I’m just gonna follow along with your nonsense? Why have you kidnapped us? What are you planning to do with us?” Glimmer said.

One of the clones walked up to her. Without a word, he grabbed her wrist.

“Hey, wha-” The moment Glimmer struggled against the grip, the clone effortlessly swung her body by the wrist, throwing her hard into the opposite wall. Conscious this time, Glimmer at least managed to protect her head, but her body suffered the full impact of the blow.

“Hey, stop!” Catra shouted, before she could stop herself. When she felt a hand grab her wrist as well, her fear welled up, and she instinctively clawed the other clone’s face. She paused in shock for a moment, watching the claw marks start to bleed.

The clone’s expression remained completely emotionless, as he considered her actions, blood dripping from the wound. Suddenly, with that same inhuman strength, he swung Catra by the wrist overhead and slammed her body into the floor. Despite managing to partly catch herself, she could hardly breathe from the pain. Suddenly, she felt him swing her again, and this time she could not adjust herself properly. The impact ran through her entire body. She was pretty sure at least one of her ribs was broken.

“You will stand and follow us.” Glimmer’s clone said passively. The two of them silently stood, not wanting a repeat of the incident they had just experienced. Catra silently nursed her ribs.

They walked down the hallway. Catra considered whether she could take on the two clones. They were incredibly strong, but she decided she probably could, despite her injury. She had claws, and they obviously could bleed. But she just didn’t know what good it would do. She didn’t know how to escape this place, and they couldn’t just keep fighting forever. They were prisoners in enemy territory, after all.

Fighting would probably just get them both killed, she decided reluctantly, forcing down the anger and helplessness she felt. Survival came first.

The room they arrived in was encircled by many clones, all standing round the edges. In the centre was something that looked like an alter, and a chair. There was also a pool of water.

They were led to the pool at the centre of the room.

“Strip.” Said one of the clones. Both girls balked at the idea of stripping plain view of so many. But when one of the clones took a step forward, they both hurriedly started removing clothing. Fighting two clones was one thing, fighting the dozens and dozens that surrounded the room was akin to suicide.

The clones had them bathe and wash, before cutting both their hair short. It was extremely uncomfortable standing around naked, but thankfully after the haircut they were given the same white robes as the clones. They hurriedly changed into them.

Finally, one of the clones started explaining their situation to them.

“You will no longer be using your former names. You shall be referred to as Initiate 01 and Initiate 02.” The clone said, indicating to them each in turn.

Glimmer was Initiate 01. Catra was Initiate 02. Both were troubled by that fact, but fear kept them silent.

“You will have rules to follow. Failure to follow the rules correctly will result in time spent being purified. The failures of Initiate 01 will result in Initiate 02 being purified, and the failures of Initiate 02 will result in Initiate 01 being purified. This ensures that initiates will form bonds of brotherhood or, in this instance, sisterhood.” The clone stated.

Both girls looked horrified at that prospect. They’d be punished if the other one broke the rules? That seemed laughably unfair, Glimmer thought miserably, already predicting that Catra would fully take advantage of that.

“W-What is purification?” Glimmer asked the clone, her tone fearful. He stared at her for a long moment.

“Initiate 01. You have broken the rule of speaking without permission twice today. This results in ten minutes of purification for Initiate 02.” The clone said simply. Catra suddenly looked worried.

“Initiate 02, you will sit in the chair.” The clone said, indicating the the chair that sat in the centre of the room. The arms had straps on them, and a green fluid sat in tubes that ran up the sides. Catra was shaking her head, backing away, but she simply got grabbed again by the other clone, who dragged her to the chair and forcibly strapped her in.

“An additional 30 minutes of purification will be given to Initiate 01, for failure to follow instructions.” The clone said, once he’d finished strapping the still-struggling Catra in. Glimmer felt worried.

The clones that surrounded them started chanting, “Purification through pain.”

Suddenly, hypodermic needles appeared from the chair and pieced Catra’s arms, pumping green liquid into her veins. She looked terrified. A few seconds later, Catra started screaming.

It was unlike anything Glimmer had ever heard in her life. The screams of pain were completely animalistic, incomprehensible. Glimmer started crying, despite herself.

“S-Stop. Please, stop.” She whispered, staring at the screaming Catra through her tears.

“That is the third time you have spoken without permission today. An additional five minutes will be added to Initiate 02’s purification.” The clone replied simply. Glimmer felt sick, when she realised she’d just extended Catra’s torture even further.

Glimmer did not say another word. She just watched in silent horror and continued to cry.

Finally, after a full 15 minutes, the needles receded, and Catra’s screaming stopped. The clones unstrapped her. She exhaustedly stood up from the chair, her eyes haunted.

“Initiate 01, you will sit in the chair.” The clone said. Glimmer felt utterly terrified, but she dared not do anything that could end with them putting Catra into the chair even longer. Her body shaking uncontrollably, she sat down into the chair and was strapped in.

The clone turned to Catra. “Initiate 02. You have broken the rule of speaking without permission, of failing to follow instructions, and of attacking one of your brothers. This results in one hour and thirty-five minutes of purification for Initiate 01.”

Both Glimmer and Catra balked at that number. 15 minutes had been utter hell, the concept of over an hour of that was unimaginable.

The needles came out, and pierced Glimmer’s skin. The green liquid pumped into her. And suddenly Glimmer felt a pain like nothing she had ever experienced before. The kind of pain that a person should not be able to experience without passing out immediately, except she didn’t pass out. The drug kept her conscious.

Catra watched, standing absolutely rigid. Her posture ingrained from years of military training, as she struggled to comprehend the horror of watching Glimmer’s unending scream.

The only thing worse, was when Glimmer stopped screaming, half an hour in.

Her eyes were still wide open, her body twitching, yet not a sound came out. Catra struggled not to vomit. She fought desperately with her body to avoid possibly adding even more time to Glimmer’s sentence.

The torture continued. Minute after minute, for a full hour and a half. Finally, Glimmer was released. Her eyes looked glazed over, barely responsive.

The clones took them back to their cell, and left them there. Neither girl spoke for a long time.

Catra stared at Glimmer. She didn’t know what to do. Glimmer was just huddled into a little ball on the floor.

Finally, Catra decided to gently pull Glimmer over to a corner of the room. Glimmer wordlessly followed without a fight. Catra gave her a protective hug, in a way she hadn’t done with anyone since she and Adora were children.

Glimmer finally started quietly sobbing into her chest. Catra just let her, making soft, cooing sounds to calm her. A few hours ago they had been lifelong enemies. Now, Catra found herself comforting the girl with an intimacy she hadn’t allowed in years. It was strange, what could change in such a short amount of time.

The two of them fell asleep, huddling against each other like mice.

* * *

_Day Two_

The next day, the two of them were collected by the clones to begin their tasks. For a little bit of time it was chores like cleaning, but most of the day was spent in ‘the choir’, as the clones called it. Essentially, standing completely still, saying and doing absolutely nothing, among many other clones. Apparently many rooms had these choirs, crowds of clones that stood around the edges of the room.

From what the girls could see, the choirs served absolutely no purpose. They were required to stand there even if the room was unused and otherwise empty.

They spent hours and hours standing still, among the crowd of clones, until they were finally told to leave at the end of the day.

At which point they were led back to the purification room.

Glimmer was visibly shaking at this point, unable to stop from sobbing quietly.

Catra squeezed her hand into a tight fist, determined not to do anything that could cause them to torture Glimmer even further. Not a sound, not a blink out of place. The fact that they had never been told what all the rules actually were, meant she had no other choice.

She had spent so much of her life unable to control herself, making stupid decisions over and over. But at the end of the day, she had been raised in the Horde. She had _excelled_ in the Horde. When push came to shove, and she really put herself to a task, Catra’s will could be as strong as iron. And in a situation like this, it had crystallised into a single assertion:

_There was no way in hell she was going to be used as a scapegoat for them to torture Sparkles._

When they arrived at the chair, the clone looked at Glimmer.

“Initiate 01, You have broken the rule of fidgeting while in the choir 29 times today, the rule of showing facial expressions while in the choir 56 times today, and the rule of making a noise and disturbing your brothers once today. This results in 4 hours and 22 minutes of purification for Initiate 02.”

Catra almost lost herself at that. An hour and a half had left Glimmer nearly catatonic. Catra was genuinely unsure if she could survive four whole hours of it. But she refused to give in. From the outside, she barely even blinked, not willing to grant them a single minute on Glimmer if she could help it.

Unfortunately, Glimmer was not quite so composed. Catra closed her eyes in resignation when she heard the Princess object, her voice hoarse.

“N-No, no, don’t... Purify me in her place, please, it was my fault. She doesn’t deserve this.” Glimmer said, unable to help herself. The idea that she’d accrued four whole hours of the chair for Catra was almost incomprehensible.

What felt worse was that a couple of those fidgets, the deliberate displays of her boredom, had been on purpose. Her pushing what little control she had for a bit of vindication. The most childish part of her upset that she’d been given so much longer than Catra had, the day before. She’d felt guilty about it immediately afterwards.

But she hadn’t wanted this. Four hours in the chair wasn’t a little bit of vindication, that could quite possibly kill Catra. Adora would never forgive that. Glimmer would never forgive herself either.

Catra stepped forward silently, allowing herself to be strapped into the chair. As she did so, the clone spoke to Glimmer again.

“Initiate 01, speaking without permission is against the rules. This will result in an additional 5 minutes of purification for Initiate 02.” He said simply.

Glimmer tried to calm the swirling emotions at that, aware that she’d managed to screw up yet again. She just gave Catra a guilty look of apology.

Catra saw it, but did not respond. She just waited.

The purification began. She immediately started screaming, her entire body burning in the endless fire of pain.

After an hour or so, just like Glimmer the night before, the screams stopped. Or rather, they turned silent, as her mouth lay agape and her body still twitched.

Glimmer tried really really hard not to throw up. But she failed. Another 10 minutes were added.

Another hour passed. The torture continued, Catra’s eyes glazed over. Glimmer was dimly aware that they both would normally have gone to sleep by this point.

Another hour passed.

That was three. Three hours she’d been in there now. Double what Glimmer had done yesterday. Catra’s body was barely even twitching at this point. The only sign Glimmer had that she was even still alive was small, shallow breaths and the occasional slow blink.

Another hour passed.

They were close to the end now. 37 more minutes. Glimmer swore to herself she wouldn’t put Catra through this again. If... If Catra was still in there, after having gone through nearly five hours of the chair. There was no guarantee. Glimmer had little doubt that were it herself, she wouldn’t be.

Finally, the machine turned off, and the clones pulled Catra out. She collapsed into a heap on the floor.

The clone spoke down to her, apparently not bothered by her inability to stand.

“Initiate 02, you have broken the rule of showing facial expressions while in choir twice. This results in 4 minutes of purification for Initiate 01.” He said.

Glimmer gaped. Only four minutes? Forget vengeance, Catra must have tried her absolute best to avoid doing _anything_ , for Glimmer to get so little punishment. She must have stood absolutely still for the entire 16(?) hours they’d been standing in choir.

And Glimmer had been doing stupid petty bullshit like deliberately fidgeting, she thought with horror.

Glimmer had the sudden realisation that she didn’t understand Catra at all. Not at all. Her understanding of Catra was that of a hateful, spiteful person who’d go out of her way to hurt the people around her. Glimmer couldn’t even comprehend why she’d put in so much effort to protect her after they’d fought for so long.

The clones strapped her in. The torture was just as bad as last time, it wasn’t a thing you get used to even a little bit. But eventually it was over.

Gently putting Catra’s arm around her neck, Glimmer tried to support her. Catra was barely responsive though, and after a moment the clone behind them had had enough and just grabbed Catra by the scruff of the neck, dragging her along.

They went back to their cell. Catra was dropped unceremoniously on the floor.

Just like had been done for her the previous night, Glimmer pulled her over into the corner and cuddled up to her.

Like this, Glimmer suddenly realised how thin and small Catra felt. She stroked her hair comfortingly, singing a lullaby.

She silently vowed to herself to try harder. Give them nothing to work with.

Eventually she fell asleep, wrapped protectively around Catra’s fragile frame.

* * *

_Day Three_

The next morning they were woken by the sound of the clones coming down the hall. Glimmer looked worriedly at Catra.

Catra was not good.

Her eyes had a dead, haunted look. She didn’t even seem to register Glimmer at first, just staring at the floor. Her hands were shaking slightly.

Eventually, she did realise Glimmer was looking. Her eyes did not truly change, but Catra did try to give Glimmer a small, comforting smile. She apparently didn’t blame Glimmer even a little bit for last night.

Glimmer reached out to give her hand a squeeze. Catra squeezed back. It was all they could do without getting into trouble, as they left.

Just like yesterday, they spent most of the day in the choir.

Glimmer tried her absolute best to stand completely still, not giving an expression. Not fidgeting. She knew she’d failed a few times though. She hated herself for it.

That evening, again, they went to the purification chamber.

“Initiate 01, you have broken the rule of fidgeting while in choir 5 times, and the rule of showing facial expressions while in choir 17 times today. This results in 59 minutes of purification for Initiate 02.” The clone said to Glimmer.

Glimmer was screaming internally. Her absolute best still landed Catra an hour in that chair!? Was she really that incompetent, that she couldn’t just _stand still_ for a few hours?

Catra was visibly shaking, as she stepped forward. Glimmer stared at her, realising that tears were running down her face.

Catra was crying. And it was Glimmer’s fault.

She squeezed her fists, but kept her face blank, as the clones strapped Catra in.

Give them nothing.

Give them nothing.

Catra started screaming.

Glimmer’s hand felt wet. She belatedly realised her nails had drawn blood, and were stinging.

Catra stopped making sound sooner this time, as though her body were already exhausted of it. It was only 15 minutes of the chair before her screams had turned silent.

Another 44 minutes passed, and finally Catra was done. Like yesterday, her body collapsed to the floor, when the clone pulled her out of the chair.

Glimmer stepped forward, trying to temper her nerves, as she readied herself for her own turn.

The clone looked at Catra on the floor dispassionately. “Initiate 02, you have not broken any rules today. Congratulations. As a reward, we will be granting Initiate 01 a portion of high quality food tonight. Please note that in the interests of not tampering with the purification process, you will be punished if you consume this food.”

Glimmer could hardly even believe her ears. They were rewarding her?

Catra had managed to go the entire day without even making a single facial expression, not moving a muscle. Glimmer had failed at that completely. And as a result, Catra would have to watch Glimmer eat good food, while Catra had nothing?

No, this wasn’t the time to think about it, Glimmer belatedly realised, as she noticed one of the clones begin to move towards Catra. She quickly went to pick the girl up off the floor, carrying her as the clones led them back to their room.

Normally the girls ate food in the morning, before choir, they did not get food in the evening. Their normal food was a grey, tasteless sludge. But unlike normal this evening there was a meal waiting for Glimmer. Her food looked significantly more appealing, being a variety of beautiful colours.

Glimmer stared at the food, but didn’t touch it. Catra was still pretty out of it, but she eventually realised Glimmer wasn’t eating beside her. She gave her a fiercesome look.

“You will eat, Sparkles. We can’t afford to have you starving yourself.”

Glimmer looked sullen. “No. After I caused you to get tortured for so long... How could I possibly eat good food right in front of you like that? It’s not fair.”

Catra lifted herself carefully from the floor, before grabbing Glimmer’s head, and pulling their foreheads together. Glimmer blushed at the sudden intimate contact.

“You **will** eat, Sparkles. This is how they work. They try to turn us against each other. Try to make us resent each other and ourselves. You did not torture me, Glimmer, you are merely the excuse. If we had both been perfect, then they would have found some other reason to torture us, because **that is how they work**. Shadowweaver was the same.”

Catra closed her eyes, exhaustion running through her, but she did not let go of Glimmer, still holding them together as she continued.

“I’ve spent my whole life learning how and when to be unnoticeable. You have spent yours learning how to get noticed. How to get what you want. Because that is your job, Sparkles, you are a Queen. You never got taught to sit still. This will always be harder for you. Just try your best.” Catra’s voice seemed to be getting weaker as she spoke.

Glimmer started crying. She wasn’t even the one who’d gotten tortured that day, and yet she always ended up crying. She hugged Catra close.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Glimmer mumbled over and over into her shoulder. Catra gave a small smile, stroking the girl’s back comfortingly.

“It’s okay Sparkles. We’ll get through this. For that, we need to be as strong as possible. So for now, eat yer damn food.” She said.

Glimmer ate the food.

As was quickly becoming the new norm, the two girls cuddled together in the corner as they slept that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, that’s all I have for now. I don’t know why this story came to me so vividly. I guess I wanted to explore how Catra and Glimmer’s relationship changed while they were prisoners together. 
> 
> This miiiiiight move towards Glimtradora at some point, if I write some more. Who knows.


End file.
